The Byakko Warriors
by nanirain
Summary: Inspired by the books with the retired Byakkos. These ones were my favs and I thought it was unfair that their story wasn’t told. So here it is. Couples: Subaru&Tokaki, Suzuno&Tatar, other characters of mine. Enjoy!
1. Meet Suzuno Osugi

**Suzuno Osugi tapped the dirt off the sole of her foot as she entered the house before slipping them off her feet at the steps. "Father?" She called out into the messy hallway. "Father are you home, yet?" **

**There was no response. Suzuno sighed quietly to herself. Her father was always coming home late from work. It really wasn't fair of his boss to have him constantly working overtime. Especially since today was her seventeenth birthday… "but knowing how busy father is," she said smiling to herself "he's probably forgotten about it."**

**It was true that Suzuno's father had forgotten that today was his only daughter's seventeenth birthday, but it wasn't true that he wasn't home from work yet, which Suzuno would discover soon. She put her backpack down on the steps and started into the kitchen. She knew her father would be hungry when he returned from work in the odd hours of the night. She would wait up for him to return, or else fall asleep at the kitchen table doing her homework. And when her father came home, he would take off his long trench coat, brush off the rain and hang it over her shoulders to keep her warm, and would be gone in the morning before she woke up for school. Most of the time it happened like that. Sometimes she would wake up when he was eating his cold dinner, and he would smile at her, and tell her to go to bed. She would give him back his coat, kiss his cheek, apologize for the cold meal, and then go to her room and sleep. She wondered what she should make for his dinner tonight. **

**She searched the cabinets and found that they were almost empty. All that was left was a few boxes of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced noodles. She pulled the boxes from the shelf, coughing as a cloud of dust descended over her. Closing the little doors, she made a mental note to dust them out over the weekend. **

"**Quite messy, aren't they?" **

**Suzuno was so surprised that she jumped out of her skin, and gasping, turned around to see her father standing in the kitchen door. His dark hair fell into his eyes, which weren't framed by his usual thin, round glasses. Suzuno noticed that he needed another haircut soon. His stripped shirt was halfway tucked into his pants, and all buttoned up except for the top three. His hair was a mess, and Suzuno knew that it was from running his fingers through it constantly, which he did whenever he was frustrated or concentrating. It looked like he had had a hard day at work. **

"**Daddy." She breathed. "You scared me." **

**He smiled tiredly at her. "Sorry, baby."**

**Suzuno just smiled at him and turned to the stove, watching as the plate began to turn red. "What are you doing home from work on time?" She asked, filling up a pot of water to the mid-rim. **

**Her father sighed, pulling out his chair from underneath the wooden table and sat, slouched in the chair. "I didn't go to work today." **

**Suzuno turned to her father in surprise, but he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at the table with wide, unseeing eyes. **

"**Daddy," Suzuno, put the box of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced Noodles down on the stove and went to her father. "What's wrong?"**

**Sighing, Mr. Osugi leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I got a letter from an old friend today… from Einosuke Okuda." **

"Einosuke Okuda**?" Suzuno didn't understand why a letter from the old man would have upset her father so much. "Is he alright?" **

"**No." Was her father's blunt reply. **

"**What happened?"**

"**His daughter,Kaley, died two weeks ago."**

**Suzuno stared in shock at her father. "Oh no… but… but they just found her."**

"**Yes." Her father said. "It appears that she was… sick with something… she died four days after she returned home."**

"**Oh God," Suzuno could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "That's horrible."**

**Her father stared blankly at the table. "Yes… I imagine it must be." **

**Suzuno was about to reach out and touch her father's shoulder, when thick black smoke thrust itself into her face. Her father jumped, and Suzuno began to cough, turning to see the box of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced Noodles had caught on fire on the stove, where she had left them. Panic spread through her body, and quickly, Suzuno jumped up from beside her father and leapt to the stove, turning the dial so that it was off, then, grabbing the pot of water that she had filled for the noodles, she dumped it over the smoking box of noodles. Which hissed angrily and steamed before going out. The thin red embers of burnt paper floated in the puddle of water and turned black. **

**Suzuno stepped away from the mess and pressed her hands up against her face, feeling the way her heart beat in her chest. She turned, breathless to her father, who sat there, staring at the stove behind her.**

"**I'm sorry." She said quietly after a while, finding a rag to mop up the water and throw out the burnt box of noodles. As she did so she fought back tears, something was very wrong with her father. If he had been normal, he wouldn't have not gone to work just because of a letter, and he would have helped her with the fire. And he didn't seem to want to tell her what else was bothering him, which hurt her the most. He had always confided in her, and she had always confided in him… ever since her mother had died…**

**Suzuno bit her lip when she thought about her mother. She could still remember everything about her, the way her silvery hair fell around her face and cupped under her chin. The way her gentle green eyes and pale green skin would shine whenever she smiled. The way she would take Suzuno out during the night, under the tin roof to listen to the rain. **

**She used to always sing a song to Suzuno when they were sitting under the tin roof listening to the rain… Without even realizing it, Suzuno slipped into the familiar song as she mopped up the rest of the water with her pale hands. She sung the song whenever she was scared or upset, it seemed to help her for some reason.**

"**Tonight the brightest moon, **

**On St. Steven's Green,**

**Floods the Streets of Rome.**

**And I am standing here,**

**Wondering where the ghosts of Antiquities,**

**Hide on nights like this… once a century **

**Where do shadows fall, when there's only light?**

**And why'd you follow me half way 'round the world tonight?**

**And what I'd give right now,**

**Not to even care.**

**And then this could be someone else's prayer.**

**And on a sleepless night,**

**By St. Steven's Green**

**Oh I turned and tossed with my Irish dreams.**

**And when the morning shone through the burned off mist.**

**I could sense you still, just as close as this.**

**Just as close as lips brush against a cheek.**

**Its your voice I hear,**

**And its your name I speak.**

**But when I look around there's no one there.**

**How I wish you were someone else's prayer.**

**And now the twilight comes as a silent guest.**

**And of all its gifts I like stillness best,**

**Except for tin-roof rains that commence with springs.**

**It's a lullaby when that tin roof sings.**

**You can look for me on the streets of Rome**

**Or in Dublin town, but I've gone back home.**

**I would always be just a stranger there,**

**And now you are free to be someone else's prayer."**

**When she finished mopping, she stopped singing, and rung the water out into the sink. "I don't think there's anything else in the house for me to make for you." She said, turning to her father. "I can run out to the supermarket if you like."**

**Her father stared at her quietly for a long time before muttering. "You sound just like your mother when you sing that song."**

**Suzuno stared quietly back at her father. He still missed her so much, even after an entire year. She was happy that she sounded like her mother, but at the same time she felt badly that she had reminded her father of his loss. "Do you want me to go the supermarket?" She asked again, readying herself for the trip. **

"**No." He said, sighing. "I don't expect I'll be very hungry tonight. Thank you, Suzie." **

**She felt the worry start to seep into her again. Something was sort of wrong with her father. She could feel it; he was acting so strangely. "Daddy," She said as he was rounding the corner in the hallway. He stopped and turned to look at her. "Are you sure you're alright?" **

**For the first time, Mr. Osugi seemed to notice that his daughter was worried about him. He smiled as best he could at her, but he looked worn and tired even as he did so. "I'm fine, Suzie… I just… need some rest I think."**

**Suzuno watched as her father disappeared with slow footsteps around the corner before turning back to the sink, where the dirty rag was lying. "What's wrong, Daddy." She said quietly. "You didn't even remember my birthday…"**


	2. Dirty Thief

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A/N: Hey guys. Second Chapter's up. AND MY SPECIAL THANKS TO MY FIRST REVIEWER: Silver Pain ! YOU ROCK! And thank you for giving me the priestess of Genbu's name. From now on if i talk about her i won't be using the name "kayley" it will be "Takiko". Anyway, Tatara will be comming soon, i promise. Compliments, Comments, Suggestions... heck even Flames are welcome welcome welcome and even desperately wanted.

XOX

Nanirain

disclaimer: i own no one. (tear). If i did own it... i wouln't be here writing fiction in my freetime now would I? I'd be off vacationing at some spa or something... :P lemme know wut u think!

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Chapter Two: Introducing a Dirty Thief

**The young man ran down the streets at an impossible speed, his cloak whipping out behind him in the black night.His figureseemed to blend into the shadows that clung to the walls in the village, save when he passed into a shaft of silvery moonlight, and it poured like liquid into the folds of his cloak, setting him aglow until he fell back into darkness. He ran silently, but the streets were full of angry yelling. **

"**Where did he go!" A rough, furious voice called out. **

"**I don't know!" Replied another man, confused and angry.**

"**Check over there!"**

"**I can't see him!"**

"**No, this way! I saw the damned thief for only a second! He's this way!"**

**Tokaki smiled despite his situation. The men of the village were very angry, but they were also very stupid. They wouldn't be able to follow him for very long. The bread and jewels that he had clutched in his hands were weightless to him, and would not slow him down any; he could have gone on running for forever. He turned into a back alley and stopped to find a dead end. "Damn." He said to himself, turning to double back the way he had come from.**

"**Oh no you don't." **

**Tokaki stopped and looked at the man who was standing in front of him. He was shorter than Tokai by a foot or so, and his legs were spread shoulder-width apart as if to brace himself against Tokaki if the taller man had charged. The torch held in the man's hand was blazing, lighting his face in odd, dark angles. But it was still very, very clear that he was angry. **

"**You there… _thief_… you think you can just wander into the village," the shorter man said, the malice evident in his voice "charm our daughters and steal our food and money and get _away_ with it!"**

**Tokaki slipped the hood off of his head, revealing his gleaming silver hair that fell back to his shoulder blades in a messy ponytail, his bangs falling into his amber eyes and over his deeply tanned skin. Those golden eyes were piercing. The other man "hmph"ed as he studied Tokai's face. **

"**I can see why she thought she was in love with you." He said. "You are quite the handsome young man."**

**Tokaki smirked.**

"**But on the inside," The other man started, "You're a dirty, thief."**

**Tokaki smiled. "Sir," he said, his voice was strong and playful sounding. "When it comes to your daughter… I didn't steal anything that didn't want to be stolen…"**

**The other man's face-hardened. "You bastard." **

"**Hey!" A rough cry boomed down the starlit streets. "Have you found him yet, Tinbu?" **

"**Yeah, I found him alright!" The man in front of Tokaki yelled. "Come 'ere! We'll take him back to the town square in pieces!"**

"**Tinbu's found him!" **

**Tokaki listened as the group of men let out a bloodthirsty cry and the running grew louder. Soon they appeared as a black, stampeding mass in the darkness, behind Tinbu, their faces were illuminated by their numerous torches, creaking strange dark shadows over their eyes and chins. Tokaki looked at the bloodthirsty faces and sighed. "Why does this _always_ seem to happen?" He asked Tinbu and the rest of the angry fathers with an air of tired curiosity. "I'm tired of being chased around by idiots."**

"**That is the last offence you will ever commit to us!" One of the men spat.**

"**We were serious about taking you back to the square in pieces." Said another man. "Return our things to us now."**

"**I have no idea what you're talking about." Tokaki replied with a smile. **

"**You damn well know exactly what we're talking about!"**

"**Enough of this!" The man beside Tinbu cried. "I say we beat him now!"**

**There was a roar of approval from the angered fathers, and Tokaki shook his head at the bloodthirstiness. "Very well then." He said to himself. **

"**Now!" The fathers charged at him, Tinbu in the lead, as he dove forwards to tackleTokaki to the ground. The only thing the man would hit, however,would be the brick wall which Tokaki had been standing in front off.Tinbucrushed his nose into the stones, and passed out into the dust. The other men stopped immediately, staring stupefied at the place where Tokaki had definitely been a few moments ago. **

"**Hey guys," They all turned to see the silver-haired nineteen-year-old standing behind them, smiling in the moonlight. "What are you all looking at?" The men gawked at him for a moment beforesomeone snapped into action. "Boy! You were over there just moments ago! How did you get from there to here so quickly!"**

**Another man stared at him with fearful, dark eyes. "You… you… you're no man! Just a moment ago you was, right there! Right there, I swear it!" His voice was quivering. "An' then ya' went an' ya just… ya' disspeared! You must be… you must be the devil!"**

**Tokaki stood up straighter, with a look of distaste on his face. "The devil? Now that's a little harsh…"**

"**He's the devil, he is!" Cried the man, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I knowed it! I knowed it with my very being! I can _feel _he evil commin' offa him! He ain't no ordinary mortal!" **

"**He's right!" Cried another father from somewhere in the crowd. "How else could he have just disappeared like that? He _is_ the devil!"**

**Tokaki rolled his eyes at theoverlyimaginative fathers, "Oh for-"**

"**Just take our stuff and leave!" An old man said. "And don't never return here, understand! This village is neighboring to the holy kingdom, that's guarded by the Great Beast God Byakko! If you return here, you will be punished by him!"**

**Tokaki stared at the man for a long time before he burst out laughing. Of all the things to say…**

"**He laughs at a God!" **

"**He is the devil!"**

"**Leave, evil spirit! You are not welcome!"**

**Tokaki smiled at the men, which confused and frightened them greatly before he slipped his hood back over his head and disappeared into thin air. The men stared after him for a long time, waiting to make sure he wasn't going to reappear right in front of them, or anything like that. They heard a rough groan behind them and turned to see Tinbu beggining to stir. They crowded around him, waiting for him to wake up. **

"**What do we tell him?" Asked one man. "He's got such a hot temper, that he'll insist that we go after him. Even if we _do_ tell him that he was a devil!"**

"**He's sure to strike us all when he finds out we let him go." **

"**Let me handle this, you all head back home and comfort your daughters."**

**Slowly the crowd thinned, and the men returned to their homes. Tinbu began to wake up meanwhile. His old friend was there when he did, and helped him sit up. **

"**Where is he?" Was the first thing that Tinbu managed to say. "Where is the dirty, thief?"**

"**He wasn't just a thief." His friend said. "he was a devil?"**

**Tinbu's eyes opened wide. "A devil? How do you know?"**

"**We saw him right disappear right infront of you as you jumped at him."**

"**He disappeared?" Tinbu asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. **

"**Yes." His friend never even batted an eye as he lied. "He just vanished into night air."**

"**Perhaps then, he was a ghost." Tinbu said slowly. "Or some sort of demon, as you said."**

"**He has left our town though." The friend said quickly as Tinbu struggled to a stand. "No doubt the God Byakko who protects our nation drove him away, him being so close to the sacred city and all."**

**Tinbu was quiet for a long time. Then after a while he finally said, "No doubt… Come then… we must return to our wives and our homes."**

**The friend nodded, following Tinbu out of the alleyway into the street.**

'**_I know you well enough to tell when you are lying…_' Tinbu thought in his head. '_And this talk of devils and demons is all just bullshit. I'll find him though… that dirty thief…I won't let him get away with this…_' **

**Tokaki was sitting on the grass along the side of the road, just outside the city where he had just come from. He was shoving the loaves of bread into his mouth, and examining the pretty jewels he had taken by the starlight. "The Devil huh?" He said quietly to himself, smiling. "What a pack of idiots."**

**And how ironic, that they should have threatened him with Byakko, his own God… He smirked before rolling over to his side underneath the cherry Tree. He watched as the petals fell from the blossoms like a light pink rain. One landed on his cheek and slid down the arch of his nose before tumbling to the ground. Tomorrow he would be traveling again. And Maybe the next village would hold the answers that he knew he needed to find… he hoped that it would. He couldn't stand this feeling of restlessness that had started a little over a month ago. It was going to drive him insane. **

"**I need my answers." He said determinedly. "And I need them soon…" He decided as he drifted off to sleep. **

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A/N: Ok so i admit i'm still a little rough around the edges. But hey... i'm trying. Anyway gimme pointers on how to improve this... or tell me if you like it. In case you coudln't tell im desperate for any advise or criticism.

Thanks guys XOX - nanirain

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	3. The Carter and the Wanderer

**A/N: Ok, so I've basically given up hope of this story being a huge success. (Then again its still early so who knows?)** **Anyway, I like the idea still, so I'm going to continue no matter how few people actually read this story. (Although I would be personally in love with each and every one of you that had something nice to say about this piece, I need a few confidence boosters when it comes to this story). The lack of review is probably because the summary isn't that good and the main characters aren't typical. But that's ok. I liked the three Byakko Warriors that are mentioned/met in Fushigi Yuugi so I'm going to keep going. (I've already said that haven't I?) Anyway, I'm sorry I've been so slow to update. Lack of reviews means lack of inspiration, and some of my other stories are much more liked so I have a tendency to work on those more… heh heh heh… oopsie. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Subaru, Tokaki or Tatara or the Priestess of Byakko, all of the other characters (strangely enough) are mine. :) I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 3: The Carter and the Wanderer**

Tokaki woke up when the first beams of dawn hit his face. He breathed deeply, inhaling the cool morning, invigorating his sleep-heavy limbs. He took a half-eaten loaf of bread from the night before as his breakfast, noting with dissatisfied acceptance that its formerly soft, moist dough was now tasteless and stale. Pushing the last of it into his mouth, he adjusted his old, weathered backpack and starting off down the dusty yellow road. Supposedly it led to the sacred city, and was used often, hence the smooth, beaten texture of the clay dirt. He had only made it a few short miles before they day grew hot, and he became bored traveling by himself. '_Too bad there aren't any girls around_.' He thought smugly. '_Then I could have myself a time…_'

It was then that he heard a sound. It was faint… barely audible… but it was there. Something was moving at a steady, rhythmic pace behind him. Turning and shielding his eyes against the white-hot sun with his calloused hand, he searched to find the source of the movement. It didn't take him long to find it. A large brown horse was coming up the road, pulling a large wooden cart behind it. The animal was large and graceful, diligently trotting with limper, sturdy legs. It appeared to be a draft horse. It's black mane and tail were glossy in the sun. There was a man sitting in the front seat, the old, leather reins gripped tightly in his hands. Tokaki could already make out the large, broad-rimmed hat that sat, wilted in the heat, over the man's head to shield him from the sun. Tokaki waited patiently.

The driver was a tall, handsome man, with light coppery-green, almond-shaped eyes and long, black hair which was tinted green in the harsh sunlight. It was tied back loosely with a winding, green thread. Some of it hung straight, like a curtain, over his face, particularly the left side. The curtain obscured a part of the man's face from Tokaki's vision. But the wanderer didn't need to see all of the stranger's face to know that he was good looking. The carter's skin was a little tanned, though not as much as Tokaki's, and something about him seemed gentle, yet at the same time seemed his copper-green eyes might have been able to pierce right through him. As the old wooden cart came to a creaking stop, a dusty cloud descended over Tokaki, making him cough a little as it dried out his throat.

"Hey there." Tokaki said, his voice friendlier than usual.

"Hello." The man said, looking at him with a serious expression that Tokaki had never worn in his life.

The wanderer studied the carter's cart with seemingly slight interest, and noticed that a large black and purple cloth covered whatever the man was carting in its bed. This alone would not have been so strange, if multiple holes hadn't been cut into the fabric…as if something should be allowed to breathe… Tokaki decided to ignore it; it wouldn't help his cause any to point it out or ask about it; he was trying to get on this man's good side. "Mind if I hitch a ride with you?" Tokaki asked casually, running his hands along the powerful draft horse's neck. The animal's coat had been groomed to the extent that it shone, the fine black/brown hairs it slid softly like silk beneath his fingers. This man took very good care of his horses.

"Where are you going?" The carter's voice was smooth and pleasantly low. Tokaki imagined that it driven girls insane.

"I guess, now, I'm going wherever you're going." Tokaki replied with a sideways smile.

The man studied Tokaki for a while before nodding. "Very well then."

Tokaki's smile widened as he climbed up onto the cart beside the carter, resting his pack down beside him. Remembering his manners, which was a rare occurrence indeed, Tokaki turned to the man and held out his hand. "Name's Tokaki." He said, "Thanks again for the ride."

The man took his hand firmly in his own and nodded. "Tatara."

"Tatara, huh?" Tokaki listened to the sound of his name in his head before leaning back into the backrest. He seemed to be able to accept it as a decent name. "So tell me, _Tatara_, where are you from?"

Tatara adjusted the reins in his hands as they started off again, the cart tumbling slightly over a stray rock, its wood splintering and rubbing against itself. "I'm not from anywhere." He replied, with a quiet, yet strangely audible voice, his copper-green eyes covered by his hat as he continued to look downwards and away from Tokaki. "I'm a hermit."

Tokaki blinked. For the first time in a long time he was genuinely surprised. "A _hermit_? Isn't that just something for lonely old men to become?"

Tatara raised an eyebrow and looked at him sideways.

"Guess not… I mean after all, you're what? Twenty?" Tokaki asked, trying to be conversational.

"Nineteen." Tatara answered with that same voice, which was gentle and soft, yet unquestionable and audible. There was something about this man… Tokaki couldn't tell if he liked him, or hated him.

"Same as me… and you're hermit? Well that's… surprising." Tokaki said. "I mean I figured, a guy like you wouldn't have any problems finding a wife or anything."

Tatara cast him a look, as if asking him to be silent. Tokaki on the other hand was annoyed with his lack of conversation; this guy was too quiet.

"I mean, don't get me wrong when I say this or nothing, but you're a pretty good-looking guy. I mean women must flock around you… I can sympathize with you there, hermit," he said, ignoring the blatant way he was being ignored, "because frankly, they flock around me too. I can't get rid of them! Practically have to beat them off with a stick!" Still no response. "Not that I mind it… anyway, I bet you've had tons of girls, haven't you?" he asked, smilingly slyly. "I bet they just stumble on you in the woods, and you save them from some ferocious, man-eating chipmunk or something. And then later that night when she's recovering" Tokaki let out a small, knowing laugh. "That damsel in distress thing works every time… especially for guys like you. I mean, you're almost as good looking as me…" He studied the carter carefully out of the corner of his eye, his golden orb critical. "Almost… " He added as an afterthought.

Tatara turned his head slowly and stared at Tokaki for a long time before turning away from him to the horse, as if he intended to ignore everything that Tokaki had just implied about him. Then, just as Tokaki was about to give up on having any sort of civilized, or uncivilized conversation with the man, a small smile began to spread over Tatara's mouth. A soft chuckling could be heard after a while as he reflected on the blatant implications and cocky attitude of his new companion. Soon he was laughing outright. Tokaki followed suit not long after, and before they knew it, they were both laughing themselves silly. The carter couldn't remember the last time he had laughed… Thus began the journey to the Holy Kingdom.

A/N: Well, please let me know what you think. I'll try to add in some more humor in a bit, I'm just trying to set the foundation here… does that sound dorky or what:) Anyway, I'd really appreciate anything any of you have to say. And let me know if you don't think I'm writing any of the characters thus far very well, and add in what sorts of edits to their personalities I should be making. Thanks all of you who do review! You're the best! (tear)


	4. We Find the Book

Chapter Four: We Find the Book

Back in the Real World…

"Dad?" Suzuno called. "Daddy?"

There was no response.

"That's strange." Suzuno muttered quietly to herself as she slipped down the hallway, moving with a gentle grace that she had never noticed about herself before. Her thick, padded socks were slippery and silent on the polished wooden floor. She made her way to her father's room and opened the rice-paper door with long, careful fingers. Suzuno had never taken the time to notice it before, but she was quite beautiful. Her long, golden brown hair was braided into two separate braids at the nape of her neck and trailed down her back to her waist. She was pale, but she had long, slender legs and fingers and large hands that made her graceful, her soft hazel eyes gave her gentleness, light, brown bangs drifting into her eyes. The just seventeen year old, high school student wasn't stunningly beautiful, in fact she was quite far from it. But there was something about her that was simple, and pure. It was an innocent beauty that she had around her, a sweet, gentle, purely innocent beauty that she had failed to notice every day as she looked into her mirror. But then… if she had noticed it, she probably wouldn't have seemed so beautiful.

She found her father slumped over in a wicker chair, asleep with his head resting on his sturdily crafted, mahogany desk, one of the few beautiful treasures of their house, and their only family heirloom. It wasn't that she and her father were poor, it was more that her father was forgetful and distracted; without his wife around, he rarely thought about buying nice things, or pampering Suzuno, though anyone could tell you that he loved her dearly. She was all he had. Just as hew as all she had.

So they led simple lives and they were happy. Suzuno hadn't ever known any different. The girl smiled lovingly at her father, as her hazel eyes tracing over his figure. His arms wrapped around his head and large, long-fingered hands clutched at his elbows. His messy, unkempt black hair fell over the lenses of his circular glasses, which were perched crooked on his nose. She watched his hunched back rise and fall… slowly. Suzuno loved her father almost as much as she had loved her mother. She did her best to take care of him, no matter how forgetful he was. Indeed, Suzuno was her father's saving grace, and he loved her dearly for it. Everyone did.

Eventually, Suzuno noticed that in front of her father's sleeping figure was a large leather bound book with a dull red cover. It was open to page one hundred and fifteen, the cracked, yellow paper looked as if it might be one hundred years old, but… it was blank. Curiously, she moved forwards and took the book, sliding it towards her and tilting it to study it more closely. She flipped a page back, her long, delicate fingers gentle with the ancient pages as they silently fell back into place. She leafed through it until she found pages with writing on it. Looking forwards, she realized that everything was written in Chinese.

"That's strange." Suzuno said quietly, frowning; her father couldn't speak a word of Chinese. As she picked up the book to hold it in the crook of her arm, a note fluttered out from somewhere in the depths of its pages. She set the book back down on the desk and picked up the note, her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was signed from her father's old friend, Takiko's father. She started reading it, not even thinking that her father would have forbidden it if he were conscious at the time. If she had known… she never would have picked it up…

"I came across this book a couple years ago…" She read quietly to herself. Her father's eyes flickered open.

Suddenly something clamped down on her wrist and yanked her downwards with surprising force. Suzuno gasped, startled as her father's hand held her down tightly. He snatched the note away from her delicate hand. His eyes scanned over it before coming back to meet hers. "Suzuno." He stared in a way she had never seen before. His eyes were a malicious black. "Get out." He had never used that tone with her before… never…

"What?" Suzuno stared at her father, suddenly and inexplicably afraid. She had never been afraid of him before… Her father's eyes moved rapidly around the room until they came to the red book. Without warning he snatched it up off the desk and held it close to his side, as if he were protecting it from her. "Suzuno, don't you ever come in here!" He said, tugging on her wrist to emphasize his point. He looked at her angrily, "Do you understand!"

"Daddy, you're hurting me." Suzuno fought back her sudden tears at the excruciating pain he was gripping her small wrist with.

"I ASKED YOU IF YOU UNDERSTOOD!" Her father roared, throwing the book into the far away corner with a violent whip of his arm. Suzuno jumped at his unexpected show of aggression. She knew he was furious. But she couldn't understand why. "_Never_ come in here!" His voice was cold poison in her veins.

"Daddy! Let go!" She pleaded, pulling slightly away from him, his grip was threatening to crush and shatter her… and it was tightening. It was as if he had her clamped in a vice; the pressure was unimaginable. "Daddy!"

Mr. Osugi let go of his daughter's hand, and the blood and color returned to her fingers and palm in a warm, welcome rush as she cradled it sorely with her other. Her father studied her coldly, as if he were studying another one of his experiments... There was no sign of comfort in his cold features, only hard anger. "Leave. I'll be down later." He removed his tie with his strong hands. She had never realized how strong… how dangerous… "I'm going to take a shower." He said, heading towards the door with his back rigid and his fists clenched. Suddenly he stopped, sighing. "Suzie… look, I'm sorry." He said, without turning, she almost burst into tears when she heard the regular, unthreatening tone in his voice return. "But please," he said, almost pained, "the office is … private. And I don't want you coming in anymore." He turned and looked at her, his eyes no longer black and violent, but regretful and loving. "Alright?"

Suzuno nodded, glancing at the book that he had thrown into the corner. It lay there lifelessly, and she saw nothing special about it. She didn't understand what it could have done to make him so angry…

Mr. Osugi did his best to smile at the girl, but it came out so twisted that it looked more like a grimace. Slowly he opened the door and waited for her to walk out. But she hesitated. She was afraid to go near him. She was rubbing her wrist where her father had grabbed her. The pain was far from gone… in fact… the flesh was starting to bruise.

"Suzuno."

She took a breath and did her best to walk past her father and out the door without showing him that she was afraid. When he shut the door she flinched visibly, as if waiting for something else to happen to her. "I'll be down in a bit." He said. "I dusted out the cabinets so this time everything should be nice and clean for you, alright?"

She nodded, doing her best to smile. "Thank you."

He took her head in his hands and kissed the top of her head. "You're welcome, darling." He said, smiling gently at her and then turning to head upstairs towards the bathroom. Once he was gone, Suzuno took a shuddering breath and crouched down on the floor, leaning up against the firm, plaster wall. Her world seemed to shrink around her, forcing her to crouch tightly into a fetal-position, her aching wrist in her lap. She could feel it throbbing. Her father had hurt her. He had _hurt_ her. He had never even yelled at her before, let alone do anything to make her afraid… truly afraid. And now… she looked down at her wrist and saw the large purple and red, swollen flesh rising in lumps where he had grabbed her. They were forming in fingertips. The dark colors harshly contrasted with her snow-colored skin. "Daddy…" She said quietly, setting free her hot tears for the first time in years. They slid down her face, burning, and dripped onto her stinging bruise. But she didn't care. Instead she cringed and bit her lip to keep her father from hearing her cry out. She hated it when she cried… "What's happening to you?" She whispered into her knees as she began to sob quietly. "What's wrong?"


End file.
